Eagles Roll Past Campbellsville, 38-10, in Home Opener
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- Junior wide receiver Doug Belk (Valdosta, Ga.) hauled in four receptions for 82 yards and tied a school record with three touchdown receptions, as the Carson-Newman football team cruised to a 38-10 victory over Campbellsville Thursday night at Burke-Tarr Stadium.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- Junior wide receiver Doug Belk
(Valdosta, Ga.) hauled in four receptions for 82 yards and tied a
school record with three touchdown receptions, as the Carson-Newman
football team cruised to a 38-10 victory over Campbellsville
Thursday night at Burke-Tarr Stadium.
With the win, the Eagles improve to 1-2 on the season, while
Campbellsville falls to 1-1.
"A win is sweet and we're grateful for the scoreboard coming out
right," C-N head coach Ken Sparks said. "We really got some guys
trying hard but we made it hard on ourselves at times
(Thursday)."
Belk tied a record that was originally set by Tom Jones during the
1969 season against Lenoir-Rhyne. Reggie Hubbard (Chattanooga,
Tenn.) was the last Eagle to accomplish the feat as he had three
against Catawba in 2007.
The Eagles were dominant at the line of scrimmage on both sides of
the ball as they piled up 411 yards on the ground and held
Campbellsville to just 27 yards rushing. C-N outgained the Tigers
526-295 in total offense on the night.
Sophomore Nate Inman (Fitzgerald, Ga.) led the Eagle rushing attack
with 114 yards on eight carries and two scores, while senior
quarterback Alex Good (Greensboro, N.C.) tallied 90 yards on just
six carries. Ricky Harris (Perry, Ga.) added 64 rushing yards on 10
carries.
Good also completed 6-of-14 passes for 104 yards and three
scores.
Backup quarterback Nathan Cooper connected on 17-of-39 passes for
231 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions to lead the
Tigers.
C-N's defense set up the first score of the night, as P.J. Woods
(Ft. Myers, Fla.) intercepted a pass by Campbellsville starting
quarterback Robert Hill at the Eagle 15 and returned it 31 yards.
Woods' interception was one of three by the C-N defense, as Issac
Kinley (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Jermel Demps (Valdosta, Ga.) also
had an interception apiece in the win.
Good then capped off an eight-play, 54-yard drive by connecting
with Belk for an 11-yard scoring strike with 5:45 left in the first
quarter. Carolos Lopez (Sweetwater, Tenn.) added the extra point to
give C-N a 7-0 lead.
Inman pushed the Eagles lead to 14-0 late in the second quarter as
he broke free for a 53-yard touchdown run with 3:47 left in the
half, but the Tigers responded on the ensuing possession as they
marched down the field on a seven-play, 62-yard scoring drive
capped by a 28-yard touchdown pass from Cooper to Stan
Warren-Huffman to trim C-N's lead to 14-7 with 1:03 on the
clock.
The Eagles responded quickly by driving 71 yards in just 40
seconds. Belk hauled in a 38-yard scoring strike from Good to end
the drive, and Lopez split the uprights on the extra point to give
C-N a 21-7 lead heading into the locker room.
C-N came out firing in the third quarter as it produced a pair of
touchdown drives in the first eight minutes of the half to put the
game out of reach.
Harris blocked a David Hon punt and recovered the ball at the
Campbellsville 39 to set up the first touchdown. Two plays later,
Inman reeled off a 34-yard touchdown run to give C-N a 28-7
advantage.
On the Eagles' next possession, Good fired a laser across the
middle to Belk, who then broke a tackle and scampered into the end
zone for a 16-yard touchdown reception. Lopez's extra point gave
C-N a 35-7 lead.
C-N returns to action next Saturday in its final non-conference
game of the season against UNC Pembroke. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
at Burke-Tarr Stadium.
"I know Pembroke is going to be excited about playing us," Sparks
said. "It will be interesting to see how them and Wingate come out
Saturday. They've already put the word out that if they beat C-N
that they're in the playoffs, so it will be an important game to
them, but it's also an important game to "old coach Sparks."
